The international community should not use the word "Islamic" when referring to the militant group Islamic State, according to the first deputy chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, Rushan Abbyasov.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in an address to the U.S. Congress that Iran is a threat to the region and the world, and that a potential nuclear deal with the regime would not stop it from getting a nuclear weapon.

Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova says Russian politics has entered a new phase after the killing of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead near the Kremlin. Speaking by Skype to RFE/RL's Current Time program, she said people could clearly see President Vladimir Putin's policies at work. Thousands queued to pay their last respects to Nemtsov before his funeral on March 3. (www.currenttime.tv)

Latest Publications

US INTELLIGENCE REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON WORLD WIDE THREAT ASSESSMENT

09-12-1393
As part of an annual series of US Congressional hearings, two senior intelligence community officials testified at an open hearing before the US Senate Armed Services Committee on 26 February, repo... Read News

RSC STAFF ANALYSIS ON DOMESTIC ARMENIAN POLITICS

08-12-1393
In the latest in our series of RSC Staff Papers, Dr. Haykak Arshamyan offered his assessment of recent political developments related to the confrontation between the ruling Republican Party and th... Read News

08-11-1393
In a brief analytical note released on January 27, the RSC looks at an interesting development, with implications for Armenian politics. The one-page brief, entitled “A Fresh Surprise and New Sus... Read News

NEW RSC STAFF ANALYSIS OF ARMENIA’S MEMBERSHIP IN EURASIAN UNION

05-10-1393
In the latest in our series of RSC Staff Analysis publications, Dr. Haykak Arshamyan assessed the process and implications of Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Union. In the four-page Armenian... Read News

RSC ANALYSIS: NAGORNO-KARABAKH SITUATIONAL ASSESSMENT

26-08-1393
In response to the 12 November downing of a Nagorno-Karabakh army helicopter by an Azerbaijani frontline unit, the RSC released its latest “Nagorno-Karabakh Situational Assessment” on 17 Novemb... Read News

As part of an annual series of US Congressional hearings, two senior intelligence community officials testified at an open hearing before the US Senate Armed Services Committee on 26 February, reporting on the “Worldwide Threat Assessment.” The attached are the official declassified reports from James R. Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

In the latest in our series of RSC Staff Papers, Dr. Haykak Arshamyan offered his assessment of recent political developments related to the confrontation between the ruling Republican Party and the country’s second-largest political party, Prosperous Armenia. His three-page Armenian-language analysis also focused of the impact of these developments, in terms of the broader political transition in Armenia.

In a follow-up to earlier RSC staff comments on the current status of the Nagorno Karabakh peace process, RSC Senior Analyst David Shahnazaryan added his assessment, focusing on how Azerbaijani attacks on the mediators themselves has triggered a serious shift in diplomacy.

In a brief, concise interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, RSC Director Richard Giragosian explains the significance of the recent statement of the OSCE Minsk Group regarding the recent escalation of clashes and upsurge in fighting along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and Nagorno Karabakh. Giragosian praised the reaction, which he defined as “seeking to send a stronger message to deter and dissuade Azerbaijan from its reckless disregard for diplomacy and its insistence in threatening not only Karabakh, nor Armenia, but the international community as a whole.”

In a brief analytical note released on January 27, the RSC looks at an interesting development, with implications for Armenian politics. The one-page brief, entitled “A Fresh Surprise and New Suspense in Armenian Domestic Politics,” looks at the possible emergence of Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan as a possible contender for the Armenian presidency.